Joe’s hometown and CYO basketball friend, Mike Ciccarello, also lived in Chicago. Mike introduced Joe to another friend Landon Davis, who happened to go to high school (St. Vincent St. Mary) with Devin. Landon, a huge Cavs fan, invited Joe to watch one of the Cavs NBA Final's games at the Field House, a divey Cleveland bar near Lakeview. After Joe met Landon there, Landon said he had invited some other friends from Akron, too. Not long after that, Devin and Jessica Durbin walked into the Field House. Devin had her Cavs hat on and she smiled at Joe, wondering who he was. As they say, the rest is history.

The original plan was to propose in Chicago on March 27 at Devin's favorite flower studio, a special place for her where she felt inspired to reflect on life in the city & to dream about the future. But the pandemic surprised us all, canceling the plan & even their trip to Europe. Instead, Joe came up with a new, pandemic-friendly plan. March 25 was forecasted to be warm & sunny. Joe decided to propose on Chicago’s lake shore trail, at a spot near the water they visited on their first date. To keep Devin distracted & get her to the spot, Joe asked Bethany to take her on a bike ride along the lake shore trail. That day, right after Joe’s law school class he packed up the ring & biked out to the spot. But the lake shore was crowded with people & a public proposal was not ideal. By now, Bethany was stalling & Devin had become impatient. The now-dynamic plan was to intercept Devin near the trail & walk her to the spot. Waiting, Joe thought “I wish all these people would just go home.” Just then, police were shouting “The lake shore is closed. Go home” & people started leaving. Determined, Joe asked a police officer what was happening. The Officer explained the mayor was shutting down the lake shore trail temporarily. Joe felt compelled to explain his proposal plan. The officer said, “No way! If she can be here in five minutes, I’ll make sure you’re good.” Devin arrived right on time. She got off her bike, reluctantly, & was confused when Joe invited her to go on a walk. “We can’t do that, Joe. It's closed.” After some encouragement, she walked with Joe right past the police officer who pretended not to notice. Joe explained “everything feels uncertain right now, but I am certain about this.” He got down on one knee & asked “Devin, my love, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?” “Are you serious?” That was all Devin could say. Eventually, she said yes, absolutely. As they walked back, they heard “Did she say yes?” over the police loudspeaker.